Software developers typically desire for their software to engage users for as long as possible. The longer a user is engaged with the software, the more likely that the software will be successful. The relationship between the length of engagement of the user and the success of the software is particularly true with respect to video games. The longer a user plays a particular video game, the more likely that the user enjoys the game and thus, the more likely the user will continue to play the game.
The principle of engagement is not limited to single player games and can also be applied to multiplayer video games. Video games that provide users with enjoyable multiplayer experiences are more likely to have users play them again. Conversely, video games that provide users with poor multiplayer experiences are less likely to maintain a high number of users. Thus, one of the challenges of video game development is to provide a mechanism that ensures or increases the probability of an enjoyable multiplayer experience.